EUROSIMA Waterman's Ball: the surf industry's gala
For two days, the European surf industry was gathered at the Casino d'Hossegor for the EUROSIMA Surf Summit which ended on Friday evening, October 15, with the annual Waterman's Ball.
The Waterman's Ball closed these two days of conferences with a festive moment on the theme "Chic & Connect". A charity raffle organized in collaboration with the French bicycle brand Angell raised funds (1050€) for the Water Family association, which works to preserve water, particularly through positive education of the younger generation.
On this occasion, the EUROSIMA Surf Industry Awards ceremony rewarded the European athletes of the sector and two personalities who have significantly marked the history of surfing in Europe and in the world.
Rewarded for the3rd time by the European surfing industry, the surfer Johanne Defay received the award of the best European Surfer of the Year for her victory on the stage of the world tour of surfing disputed on the artificial wave of the Surf Ranch of Lemoore and her4th world place in the ranking of the professional circuit of surfing WSL.
French surfer Joan Duru was awarded the European Surfer of the Year prize for his ISA Amateur World Champion title last June in El Salvador.
Finally, Kauli Vaast, already awarded in 2019 by EUROSIMA, won the Rookie of the Year trophy. The 19-year-old Tahitian surfer, three-time European Junior Champion, surfed an exceptional wave last August in Teahupoo and managed to qualify for the Challenger Series with the goal of earning an entry to the Championship Tour.
These three awards were given by the members of the EUROSIMA Board of Directors taking into account the performances of the European athletes between October 2020 and September 2021.
Jérémy Flores has been honored with the "Competitive Career Achievement Award", an exceptional award given by EUROSIMA to a European athlete for the level of excellence achieved during his or her international sports career. Winner of the Pipe Masters, the Billabong Pro Tahiti and last winner of the Quik Pro in Hossegor, Jérémy is the best European surfer of all time. He retired from sport two months ago.
Finally, Frédéric Basse received a standing ovation for his " Lifetime Achievement Award", an award recognizing his 45-year career and his significant contribution to the development of surfing, the industry and the surfing culture in Europe. This French surfing champion and fun board professional was one of the pioneers to surf the giant Belharra wave off the coast of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, he created with François Payot the Rip Curl Europe company and was president of EUROSIMA for a decade, "I have experienced so many great things in this industry, it's a wonderful adventure, [...] I wanted to give back to surfing what it has given me", he says.
